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Credit: Matthew West

Bruins center Chris Kelly collides with Toronto Maple Leafs center Mikhail Grabovski in the first period of game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

Bruins left wing Milan Lucic, left, and center David Krejci congratulate Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski on his first period goal in game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

Maple Leafs right wing Joffrey Lupul crashes into Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask nocking off his mask in the second period of game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

A mask-less Rask retaliates on Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Joffrey Lupul who crashed into him in the second period of game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri scores on Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask in the third period in game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

With Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer on ice, Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic scores a third period goal to make the score 4-3 in game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara celebrates Patrice Bergeron's third period goal on Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer which tied the game in game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

Credit: Matthew West

Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, right, celebrates as he scores the game winner and series clincher, downing the Toronto Maple Leafs in game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

Fans celebrate as game 7 is sent to OT by Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron with a goal in the third period of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara hugs center Patrice Bergeron after he scores the game-winning goal in OT to end the Toronto Maple Leafs season at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Credit: Matthew West

Bruins head coach Claude Julien, bottom right, celebrates OT victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in game 7 of the conference quarterfinals at TD Garden on Monday, May 13, 2013.

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It was thought that the Bruins might be tired heading into tonight’s Game 7 after having to fly into Boston this morning. But after putting away the Maple Leafs in an exhilarating 5-4 win in overtime, members of the Bruins were truly exhausted.

“Drained, obviously is probably the key word,” Coach Claude Julien said. “The emotions of this game had us going in all kinds of directions. I told the guys after the game that they didn’t let me down with the Jekyll-and-Hyde comment because in one game they were able to show that.”

Leading the way for the Bruins was Patrice Bergeron, who scored the game-tying goal in the third and then the game-winner in OT. He said it was the wildest game he’s ever been a part of.

“Yeah, for sure, it’s one of the craziest ones I’ve been a part of,” Bergerson said. “We stayed resilient—I guess that’s what I can say. We found a way. Not necessarily the way we would’ve liked to play the whole game, but like I said, we showed some character coming back in the game and we found a way in overtime. We had the momentum, I thought, and our legs were back. It felt good.”

Throughout the game, the rollercoaster of emotions was wild. Matt Bartkowski got things started off with his first career NHL goal in the first period. The Garden was loud at the start, but Toronto quickly silenced the crowd. The Leafs got goals from Cody Franson in the first period to tie the game and then again in the second to take the lead.

The B’s were having trouble getting shots on net and any sort of momentum and then it looked like Toronto was bound for the Eastern Conference semifinals, scoring twice in the opening 5:39 of the third. The Leafs were up 4-1 as boos rained down.

Nathan Horton scored at 9:18 to get the B’s within two and the team found life. Milan Lucic added another with 1:22 remaining and the crowd went crazy. Julien pulled Tuukka Rask and with 59 second left, Bergeron put in the tying goal. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before the Bruins won in OT and they did.

“That was unbelievable,”Johnny Boychuk said. “That’s one thing you’re going to remember probably for the rest of your life, because it was such a comeback that everybody probably thought that we were done and showed what kind of character there is in this dressing. Never say die, more or less.”